Security reportedly dragged protesters away from the gates of a Chinese newspaper at the centre of a press freedom storm, as authorities tried to draw a line under the episode.

Guangdong province's weekly newspaper, the Southern Weekend, has been embroiled in an ongoing dispute over freedom of speech since January 1, when government censors meddled with a front-page editorial calling for political reform.

The decision triggered nationwide public outrage, a strike among some editorial staff and – this week – four days of rare protests outside the newspaper's Guangzhou newsroom.

By Thursday some striking journalists had reportedly returned to work after negotiations between staff and government officials apparently cemented a guarantee that they would not be punished.

The latest edition of the Southern Weekend appeared in news-stands in Beijing and Shanghai on Thursday morning although reportedly not in Guangzhou itself.

While the newspaper made no direct mention of the crisis, a timid jab at censors appeared at the foot of page 32, where a commentary attached to an editorial read: "It is a principle that the Party regulates the press, but the method of regulation needs to keep pace with the times." Since protests began on Monday, authorities have largely tolerated public demonstrations of dissent outside the Southern Weekend's Guangzhou newsroom. Some demonstrators have held up posters calling for democracy.

Related Articles

But on Thursday, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported at least a dozen people had been detained by police "on charges of subversion and illegal gathering." Among those held was writer Ye Du, who claimed he had been detained for seven hours and strip searched.

"I was locked up for three months during the 'jasmine revolution' [protests in 2011], and even then I never had to go through such humiliating treatment," he told the South China Morning Post.

Three members of the outlawed Chinese Democracy Party were also reportedly detained in the city of Hangzhou for "inciting subversion of state power."